The Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series showcases excellence in research and development which is generating economic, environmental, social and technological benefits for New South Wales. The series will again feature some of the state’s best and brightest, and highlight its tremendous research strength across a diverse range of disciplines.
For more information, please call the Office of the NSW Chief Scientist & Engineer on (02) 9228 3940.
2023 Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series
2023 BREAKFAST SEMINAR SERIES CALENDAR
Wednesday 11 October 2023
Associate Professor Amy Cain
Macquarie University
Mini-machines: How Microbial Genes Can Improve the World
Microbes are powerful mini-machines that thrive in the earth’s most extreme environments, ranging from volcanoes to ice-caves. Researchers are aware of their superpower capabilities but are only recently discovering how to harness and apply them. This includes potential benefits such as producing life-saving antibiotics, breaking down plastics and even reducing atmospheric CO2.
Amy argues the key to harnessing a microbe’s power is by understanding its genes. This is the focus of her research, which uses ‘functional genomics’ techniques to discover an individual gene’s role and then applying it to create ground-breaking biotechnologies. She says nature is smarter than we are and the challenge is to apply what has been happening in nature for billions of years to enhance everyday life.
In this seminar, Amy will discuss the broad uses of microbial genes, from breaking down shopping bags or old mattresses to understanding how microbes become resistant to antibiotics, helping in the fight against superbugs. She will also brief us on the Galleria Research Facility’s plastic-eating caterpillar program.
Join Associate Professor Amy Cain when she presents Mini-machines: how microbial genes can improve the world.
About the Speaker
Associate Professor Amy Cain, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University
Amy is an Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow, Director of the Galleria Research Facility and an affiliate of the ARC Centre of Excellence in Synthetic Biology.
Her research is currently focused on building synthetic microbes that efficiently degrade various difficult-to-recycle plastics and developing new-to-nature antibiotics.
Amy established The Galleria Research Facility, an Australian-first initiative that provides an efficient and ethical way to effectively test new biotechnologies and drugs and help make them market ready.
She has also worked in academic groups, hospital labs and in the pharmaceutical industry across Australia, the UK, Malawi and in the USA.
The author of and contributor to some 70 publications, she has attracted more than $15 million in grant funding over the last five years. She holds many honours and awards, including the NSW Tall Poppy and the Australian Society for Microbiology’s Frank Fenner Awards.
Wednesday 16 August 2023
Professor Richard McDermid
Macquarie University
Exploring Our Complex Cosmos with Next-Generation Telescopes in the Age of Data-Intensive Astronomy
THE VIDEO WILL BE AVAILABLE SHORTLY
Wednesday 14 June 2023
Ros Harvey
CEO, The Yield
Is Agriculture Ready for Artificial Intelligence?
Wednesday 10 May 2023
Professor Garry Myers
University of Technology Sydney
Synthetic RNAs for NSW and Australian Needs
Wednesday 1 March 2023
2022 NSW Scientist of the Year
Professor Glenda Halliday
The University of Sydney
Neurodegenerative Disease: Causes and Cures
2022 Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series
Wednesday 7 December 2022
Distinguished Professor Michelle Leishman
Macquarie University
Towards Nature - Smart Liveable Cities for the Future
Wednesday 19 October 2022
Chris Beal
Chief Executive Officer, NextOre Pty Ltd
Australian Technology’s Role in Addressing the Environmental Impacts of Mining
Wednesday 17 August 2022
Dr Carl Seubert
Chief Research Officer, SmartSat CRC
Guiding the Trajectory of Australia's Space Technology
Wednesday 29 June 2022
Professor Judith Dawes
Macquarie University
Photonics: Making Light Work
Wednesday 11 May 2022
2021 NSW Scientist of the Year Professor Jim Patrick AO
Cochlear and Macquarie University
The Cochlear Implant as a Treatment of Severe to Profound Hearing Loss
* Due to technical difficulties with the Parliament of NSW AV system, this video does not contain footage of the speaker, but rather the presentation slides and Professor Patrick's accompanying narration. We apologise for any inconvenience.
Wednesday 30 March 2022
Professor Hala Zreiqat AM
The University of Sydney
The Challenges in Engineering Human Tissue
2021 Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series
Wednesday 8 December 2021
Distinguished Professor Ian Paulsen
Macquarie University
Synthetic Biology: Inspired by Nature, Designed by Science
NOTE: there is an error in slide 32 of this presentation. The chromatogram shown in the bottom right of the slide is old data that has not been reproduced.
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Wednesday 14 July 2021
Professor Francois Aguey-Zinsou
UNSW Sydney
Hydrogen Science and the Future of Australia
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Wednesday 19 May 2021
Distinguished Professor Belinda Medlyn
Western Sydney University
Climate Change and Australian Vegetation: Where Are We Headed?
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Wednesday 31 March 2021
2020 NSW Scientist of the Year
Professor Edward Holmes
The University of Sydney
The Discovery and Origins of SARS-CoV-2
WATCH THE SEMINAR
2020 Science & Research Breakfast Seminar Series
Wednesday 2 December 2020
Distinguished Professor Antoine van Oijen
University of Wollongong
Tackling Antimicrobial Resistance, from Molecule to Community
WATCH THE SEMINAR
Wednesday 21 October 2020
Distinguished Professor Dayong Jin
University of Technology Sydney
Harnessing Nanophotonics for the Early Detection of Coronavirus
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Wednesday 19 August 2020
Senior Professor Ross Bradstock
University of Wollongong
The Science of Bushfire Risk
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Wednesday 1 July 2020
Professor Liz Pellicano
Macquarie University
Knowing Autism
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Wednesday 20 May 2020
Professor Dietmar Müller
The University of Sydney
The Future of Geoscience in Australia
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Wednesday 26 February 2020
2019 NSW Scientist of the Year
Scientia Professor Rose Amal AC
UNSW Sydney
Harnessing Solar Energy To Power Our Planet
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2019
Tuesday 3 December 2019
Professor Geordie Williamson
Director of the Mathematical Research Institute
The University of Sydney
Light, Sound and the Magic of the Fourier Transform
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Wednesday 16 October 2019
Liesl Yearsley
CEO and Co-Founder, a·kin
The Co-Evolution of AI and Humanity
Tuesday 13 August 2019
Dr Cathy Foley
CSIRO Chief Scientist
Future Science 2040
WATCH THE SEMINAR
Wednesday 19 June 2019
Professor Maria Kavallaris
Children's Cancer Institute and Australian Centre for NanoMedicine, UNSW Sydney
How Nanomedicine is Changing Cancer Treatment
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Tuesday 30 April 2019
Professor Michael J. Biercuk
The University of Sydney and Q-CTRL
Building the Quantum Economy
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Wednesday 27 February 2019
2018 NSW Scientist of the Year
Laureate Professor Nick Talley AC
The University of Newcastle
Uncovering the Secrets of Serious Gut Disorders
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2018
Wednesday 28 November 2018
Dr Pasi Sahlberg
Gonski Institute for Education, UNSW Sydney
Finnish Lessons: Increasing Equity and Opportunity in
Australia's Education System Through Research
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Wednesday 10 October 2018
Associate Professor Muireann Irish
School of Psychology, the University of Sydney
Memory in Dementia - Past, Present and Future
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Wednesday 15 August 2018
Professor David Currow
Chief Cancer Officer, NSW and Chief Executive Officer,
Cancer Institute NSW
How Cancer Outcomes Can Continue to Improve
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Wednesday 6 June 2018
Scientia Professor Veena Sahajwalla
Director of UNSW Sydney's Centre for Sustainable Materials Research and Technology (SMaRT)
Green Microfactories: Products from Waste
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Wednesday 9 May 2018
Professor Justin Gooding
Scientia Professor in the School of Chemistry at
UNSW Sydney and founding co-director of the
Australian Centre for NanoMedicine
How Sensors are Changing Our World
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Wednesday 21 February 2018
2017 NSW Scientist of the Year
Professor Gordon Wallace AO
University of Wollongong
3D Printing, Bioprinters and Clinical Application
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2017
Wednesday 22 November 2017
Distinguised Professor Lesley Hughes
Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research Integrity and Development) and Professor of Biology at Macquarie University
Climate Change Frustration:
What Role the Public Scientist?
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Wednesday 8 November 2017
Dr Peter Svensson
Vinnova - Sweden's Innovation Agency
Openness and Innovation:
Possibilities for New South Wales
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Wednesday 18 October 2017
Professor Richard Roberts
Director of the new ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage at the University of Wollongong
Our Story: The Epic Human and Environmental History of Australia
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Wednesday 9 August 2017
Professor Louise Baur AM
The University of Sydney
Tackling Childhood Obesity:
From the Clinic to Global Policy
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Wednesday 28 June 2017
2016 NSW Scientist of the Year
Rick Shine AM, Professor in Evolutionary Biology at
The University of Sydney
Winner of the Prime Minister’s Prize for Science
Conversation in Cold Blood:
Researching Reptiles
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Wednesday 5 April 2017
Mr Nick Kaye
CEO, Sydney School of Entrepreneurship
An Ecosystem, Satellites and a Stage:
Setting up Sydney’s School of Entrepreneurship
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Wednesday 1 February 2017
